Archaeological Survey On Hold For Now

The Friends Of Spruce Creek Have $30,000 For The Turnbull Colony Project. Now They Need Matching Money From The State.

September 9, 1997|By Linda Creesy of The Sentinel Staff

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — With financial support from area governments, the Friends of the Spruce Creek Preserve are $30,000 closer to finding the key to a Scottish doctor's attempt to colonize the area in the 1700s.

But a proposed archaeological survey to find remnants of Andrew Turnbull's home is on hold unless the state Division of Historical Resources approves a matching $30,000 grant in mid-November.

''We're waiting breathlessly,'' said Lynne Plaskett, a member of the group's board of directors. ''We just hope that with the money donated to us from the county, New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange, it will show the people making the decision that this project goes beyond New Smyrna Beach's boundaries.''

Dana Ste. Claire, curator and archaeologist with the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, called the agreement with area governments a ''wonderful pro-active plan.''

''The sleeping historic preservation community in New Smyrna Beach has become viable,'' Ste. Claire said. ''More importantly, this agreement will show the people in Tallahassee that local government recognizes the importance of historic resources in this area.''

Ste. Claire, who chairs the advisory board that makes grant application recommendations to Secretary of State Sandra Mortham, said the proposed archaeological survey is the kind of project the state ''likes to see.''

''The municipalities are teaming up, submitting this application together to achieve a very important goal,'' he said.

If the state approves the matching funds, the money would not be available until January or February, Ste. Claire said.

Recently, the Friends group went to Volusia County staff, the Port Orange City Council and the New Smyrna Beach City Commission, seeking a $10,000 donation from each governmental agency.

Plaskett said it wasn't a hard sell.

''Everybody knows the benefits, especially if we locate Turnbull's home,'' she said. ''That would put New Smyrna Beach on the worldwide map.''

Turnbull brought more than 1,200 colonists in 1768 and settled along the banks of the Indian River. The original site took up more than 100,000 acres.

For a long time, only a smattering of evidence was unearthed. But in the past few years, archaeologists have discovered 18th-century commercial structures in downtown Old Fort Park, a landing wharf for boats on the Indian River, and a colonist's home on a one-acre site where car dealer Dennis Higginbotham plans to expand his dealership.

The Higginbotham site will be entombed with a concrete cap that will be fitted over the site where the home was found. New Smyrna Beach city commissioners recently voted to allocate $20,000 to pay for the work.

Members of the Friends group hope the survey will locate Turnbull's estate house and other buildings that have never been found.